


The Critical Distance of Longing

by genjibansai



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genjibansai/pseuds/genjibansai
Summary: Longing is the furthest emotion from understanding.The story of two non-humans who are almost far away from each other and finally try to get closer.
Relationships: Malleus Draconia/Sebek Zigvolt
Kudos: 21





	The Critical Distance of Longing

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a Chinese article, but I was so desperate for communication that I tried to translate it into English by using a translator(The DeepL translator is excellent!), and did my best to embellish it, so hopefully it won't be weird.  
> It would be my pleasure if you would read on.

Ever since I became aware of it, I have been looking up to that figure.

He is incomparably beautiful and powerful, his eyes are like burning green flame, and his sinuous horns are the darkness of grace, the crown of thorns crowning him.

Anyone should be ashamed of himself in the face of him, he is the supreme being in the world, always standing on the top and looking down on all living beings.

Therefore, even if I’m not qualified to stand behind him ......

Bang!

Sebek looked at the blue sky, squinted by the sun, and there was a worried face in front of him, asking if he was okay and giving his hand,it was Jack. It took Sebek a moment to regain consciousness, and he rose to his feet by himself, patting the dust from his body.Jack didn't mind and withdrew his hand, "Hey, what's wrong with you? It's the first time I've seen you fall off your broom.

Sebek didn't answer, but Deuce came over to him and looked him up and down, "You're a bit strange today.

Sebek picked up the broom from the floor and whispered, "Nothing.”

Just as the bell rang, Sebek walked out of the sports ground without any word, and the two who were left behind looked at each other in dismay.

"That Sebek, I've never heard him speak so quietly before." 

"I didn't even hear him call out to the young master today."

They both concluded at the same time, "Something's wrong."

At the end of the day's lesson, Sebek was outside the third grade D classroom when he realized.He was about to peek out the window, then he suddenly froze, paused, turned around, and ran.

It wasn't a long way to go, but his lack of breath control actually made him gasp for air in exhaustion. The big first grader took a seat in a secluded corner, hugging his knees and closing his eyes.

The greenhouse, which used to be comfortable, was now sticky and annoying as mud; the chirping of insects and birds and the whispered conversations of other students were so noisy.Sebek exhaled heavily, his fingers tugging at the grass, inadvertently pulling down a flower.

He remembered a human custom he had heard, and though he didn't think it was true at the time, his hand started to move on its own, silently picking off the petals one by one, finally stopping again when there was only one petal left.

The grass around him suddenly rattles.Sebek looked over and saw a head peeking out of the bushes, he yelled, "Silver, what are you doing here!"

The silver-haired guard, who still had a red blush on half of his face from sleep, didn't respond and slowly shifted his gaze to the flower in his hands.

Sebek hid the flower behind his back for a second and said, "You ......" and then nothing more.

But Silver didn't seem to want to pursue the matter, he just rubbed his eyes and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's four o'clock in the afternoon! You're not going to skip class, are you? As a guard of young ......, "Sebek suddenly and unconsciously paused in mid-sentence.

"What is it? "

"By the way, you didn't pick up Malleus-sama from class? "Silver was never good at reading people's minds, but Sebek's state was too obvious for him to ignore. He grabbed Sebek's arm, which was a little sticky to the touch, and noticed that Sebek's hand was covered in dust and a little blood.

"I just fell down, it's okay."Sebek tried to shake off his hand, but he couldn't do anything because of his wound. Before he could say "Go away", Silver stood up and dragged him away, "Let's go back to the dormitory first.

Back in Diasomnia's lounge, Lilia was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, playing a game and didn't look up,"I'm short a man on my team. Silver, back me up."

"Wait a minute, father."Silver took the medicine cabinet from the drawer and ignored Sebek's struggle, sitting him down on the sofa.

"Hey, Silver, how can you keep Lilia-sama waiting, I can do it myself!"

"You've injured your left hand, you need to take care of it. "Silver quickly cleaned up the wound, when listening to the crocodile's gasping voice, he slowed down his movements, he put the medicine on him and wrapped him in gauze."Is that why you didn't go to Malleus-sama?"

"Well, if ...... is wrong, I just say don't ask! Ah, Lilia-sama!?"

"I'm curious, too. "The deputy dorm leader, who was hanging upside down in front of the face of the first grade, had a video game in his hand. His red eyes were curved into a pair of blood moons, and his sharp teeth were showing as he smiled and gossiped, "Did you have a fight with Malleus?"

"I WOULDN'T DARE TO BE SO RUDE!!! "Sebek shouted, and lowered his voice uncomfortably under the scrutiny of two pairs of eyes, "It's really nothing ......"

"In my experience, when a child says there is nothing, there must be something. "Lilia rolled over and fell back onto the sofa, holding his chin to act as a spiritual mentor, "Malleus will be late returning from his club activities today.Just tell me what was going on."

"The young master has gone to the club? Is it dangerous to be unguarded? "

"Malleus-sama is not a child anymore. You don't have to be so protective."

"...... Maybe that's it." As soon as Sebek looked up, he saw two stern faces less than five centimeters away from him, and was so shocked that he fell backwards.

"Looks like something really went wrong." Lilia put aside the game console that was emitting the sound of death and raised his hand to pat the tall crocodile's shoulder, "Tell me, what happened between you and Malleus?"

With a cup of black tea put into his hand by Silver, and with the father and son staring at him, Sebek froze for a moment with the tea warming his hand, "I don't want ...... to cause trouble for the young master."

Even though he had been confused for a whole day, he still remembered clearly that this morning was no different from any other morning, whether it was waking up to say good morning to the young master's portrait, picking flowers and putting them in the dormitory after washing up, or guarding the master all the way to the classroom and saying, "I will study hard for the young master's sake! "It was all part of his ordinary daily routine.

Today, the only difference was that Malleus called out to him as he turned around.

Sebek puffed up his chest in anticipation of what he was told, but his master didn't speak for a long time, and Sebek obsessed with those noble green eyes. He didn't know how long it took, but a sigh passed through his ears, "You don't have to do that."

"Young master?" He called out and Malleus paused again before continuing, "I'm just a student in this school, you don't have to be a guard all the time.You can be more free."

Sebek was so immobilized that he didn't even blink. Malleus looked at him, patted his shoulders and said, "Go to your class first. "Then he turned around and went into the classroom.

"I'm not sure if he thinks I've done too much ......." Sebek's hands on the teacup were so tight that they were discolored.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lilia, who was sitting next to him, seemed to be trembling, but when he looked up, he saw a strange expression of holding in his laughter until he was about to cry.

"Lilia-sama?" Sebek speak in confusion, the elder simply couldn't take it anymore, pounding the couch so hard he could barely sit still, Silver sighed and took the tomato juice that was shaking in his hand and put it on the table, "Sebek has learned to speak like Malleus-sama, but don't laugh too much, Father."

"Oops, sorry sorry." Lilia coughed and sat up straight, "Malleus has never been very good at communicating since he was a little dragon, and I'm not sure he's improved much since then."

"Young master is perfect!" Sebek replied subconsciously, and found himself pausing abruptly after contradicting Lilia, "I'm so sorry, Lilia-sama! I didn't mean to ......"

His words stopped at the gesture of the elder putting his index finger to his lips.

"Perhaps you don't know it yet, young man, but it's not good to be seen as 'perfect'. "There were tears in the corners of his eyes from a recent smile, but there was something in his expression that Sebek could not describe, as if he could see far, far away through him.

"Malleus is not a god, so imperfect as he is, he has emotions, but certainly not the ones you think." The child's champagne-colored eyes wobbled, Lilia raised his hand to ruffle his brushed hair, "I think it would be quicker to ask Malleus than to guess?"

Sebek was dumbfounded, Lilia took a goblet of tomato juice and sighed contentedly, "I've recently learned a new dish, so how about we wait for him to come back and eat while we talk?"

"Father, I'll prepare dinner for you today. "Silver said, Lilia yelled with a sad expression, "Why don't you want to eat my food?!".

"You don't have to prepare my share today, if you'll excuse me." Sebek greeted and left the father and son behind, walked straight to his room without changing his clothes, fell on his bed and hid his face in the sheets.

The left side of his head was the look on Malleus's face in the morning, the right side was Lilia's words, "He is not a god." Sebek was still as a crocodile statue, until he was too bored to breathe, and then he turned over and stared at the painting on the wall.

Sebek had never dared to look directly before the real Malleus, and even craved his look, only now he could be so bold. He asked the portrait hopefully, "You are not bored with me, are you?"

The oil painting's emerald green eyes also gazed at him, his thin lips seemingly ready to say something in the next second, until Sebek blinked physiologically and then fell silent.

Sebek didn't know when he fell asleep, but he probably closed his eyes when he got tired of watching the portrait. He could barely believe his eyes when he opened the door after three taps on the door.

"Sebek, would you like to go for a walk with me?"

It was his beloved young master, Malleus Draconia, who was standing in front of the door and looking towards him.

Fresh from a deep sleep, Sebek's mind was still so clouded that he almost thought he was still awake, but not even in his most memorable dream had he seen such a sight. He blinked his eyes and raised his hand to rub it again, realizing that the dragon in front of him was not a hallucination, then he jumping up in hindsight, "Yes!!!"

But Sebek soon found himself in an utterly disgraceful state, with his unchanged sweatshirt a little wrinkled and his hair having fallen out in his sleep. He hated himself for his carelessness in letting the young master see him in such a disheveled state, but if he had to change his clothes ...... how could he make the master wait?

Luckily, Malleus seemed to notice the struggle from the way he was pulling at the hem of his shirt, and after a quick wave of his hand, Sebek was in his full dorm's uniform.Even though he knew it was a practical magic that could be learned in the upper grades, the young child was untimely reminded of the fairy godmother in Cinderella's fairy tale.

After bowing in gratitude, he coughed to hide his nervousness, "Shall we go? Young master."

"Not yet. Raise your head."Sebek tilted his neck up in obedience, and saw Malleus raise his hand, his fingertips approaching with a shimmering green light, it dilated in the crocodile's pupils, and he couldn't help but close his eyes when it touched his eyelids.

Even without a mirror, Sebek knew that the end of his eyes were colored with the color given by the king, and he opened them to Malleus's eyes, which seemed to burn.

"Let's go."

They stepped onto the thorny stone path at the entrance of the dorm, through the dense trees and past the quiet lake. The lack of light is not a problem for a crocodile with excellent night vision, not to mention the faint fluorescence his master always emitted when he walked.He couldn't resist sneaking up to grab it, then quickly dropping his hand when Malleus occasionally turned around.

The disturbing thoughts in his mind were still tangled together, one side was still uneasy about what Malleus had said in the morning, and the residual touch on his eyes made him uncertain again. Malleus has never been a fan of noise, so he kept quiet and just watched the dragon's blue hairtip sway with his pace, thinking that he should be satisfied to be able to follow behind his lord.

When Malleus stopped suddenly, the crocodile almost hit a spine on his dorm's uniform, Sebek took two steps back and looked around.

The place was obviously neglected, with chunks of masonry strewn across the grass, the bases of the pillars empty, and grass growing in the cracks. But at the moment, he could hardly pay attention to them, for the sky had stolen his eyes.

The Valley of Thorns was shrouded in clouds and fog, and there was little sunlight, except for the starry sky created by the magic of the astrology class and the pictures in the books, it was the first time that Sebek had seen the Milky Way.

The stars were so numerous that it seemed as if they would fall as rain on him in the next second, sprinkling the dark blue velvet with jeweled crumbs.The Milky Way is not like a river, but like a giant scar that cuts the night in half.

Still brought back to consciousness by a soft laugh, Sebek was about to apologize for his trance, but Malleus had casually sat down on a boulder to silence him and opened his hand to light a flame, the green fire solidifying and deepening into a dark, thorny cello.

The only audience at the midnight concert was the whole world, and Sebek.

The thorn in his hand draws the long bow, and the low tone of the sound as it grazes the strings is like a human whisper. It was an unfamiliar melody, but Sebek, who is not an expert in the arts, did not know many of the songs, and he held his breath for fear that he might miss a single note.

The dragon closed his eyes and swayed with the movement of the strings, sliding his fingers as the music stretched on like a road, sometimes soft and gentle, sometimes like a spiraling upward ramp, climbing step by step, taking Sebek's breath away as they rose and fell.

Even when the tempo was fast, Malleus never faltered, even the vibrato was graceful, the starlight bouncing lightly on the bow head tickled Sebek's heart, and every time the string touched it, a gold green glow was reflected in the crocodile's eyes.

For a moment, Sebek envied the cello. Even wood would be honored to have the lyre wrapped in Malleus's arms and played in his hands.

But even though Malleus is sitting right in front of him, they are still so far away, like stars shining in the sky, so close to each other, but in the real universe, hundreds of millions of light years apart.

The piece ends with a long bass, the sound fading into the night air, and Sebek's heartbeat is all that's left in the world.

He applauded vigorously, wanting to use the most beautiful words to describe the deep mystery of the music and his own good fortune, but all those gorgeous sentences from the book were forgotten.The crocodile stopped after a few words of praise, a clumsy compliment that seemed to please Malleus, he smiled, "Shall we like an encore?"

"Is it really okay?"Sebek was so flattered that he couldn't believe his ears.

"You may ask more of me," the dragon smiled twice with his long, leather-wrapped fingers against his chin, his pointed teeth faintly visible beneath his dark lips, "and if it is yours, I will respond."

Sebek's face suddenly burned, and he suppressed a fleeting thought of what he should say now to express his supreme gratitude to his master, but before he could speak Malleus put his bow back on the string, and the little guard shut his mouth.

This time the beginning was still calm and gentle, the flowing notes reminding Sebek of the babbling waters of the Valley of Thorns, in which he loved to soak on summer days, releasing his long-lost tail and occasionally catching a few small fish for dinner.

The Grand Wizard even plays his cello with magic and can weave a picture with music.The sound of the cello led Sebek through the dark and vibrant forest and back to the castle, which was several times more magnificent than the Diasomnia. When the thorn-covered gates descended, the music lowered.

The repetition of a few vignettes as a tedious day-to-day routine.Just when Sebek thought it would go on like this, the tune suddenly became richer, low and high, like a question and answer between an adult and a child, even the light emitting from the strings looks like it's jumping, saving Sebek's breath that was almost suffocated.

It seems like a long time, or like the blink of an eye, the small children's voices become steady, and the grown-ups' deep voices remain, but with a hint of inaudible sadness.Sebek suddenly had a bad feeling, and when the child's voice completely disappeared, it turned back into a mumbled monologue, the same repetitive bars, but without a single light when the bow hit the string.

Sebek froze with his eyes open, the tip of his nose a little sore, until the discordant sound crashed into his ears and the cello stopped abruptly, then the crocodile's vertical pupils focused and he saw Malleus' hand on the bow drop in the air, and the black string of the cello broken.

He took a couple of hurried steps forward to check if Malleus was hurt, but the dragon looked up first and asked, expressionless, "Sebek, why are you crying?"

"Ah, I ......?" The crocodile raised his hand to his cheek, wiping away the wetness that had filled his face, while warm tears were still dripping down, and he simply raised his hand to cover his face, not wanting his master to see such an embarrassment, and apologized brokenly.

In just a few seconds, his hand was pulled away and Malleus grabbed his arm with one hand and lifted his chin with the other, forcing Sebek to meet his gaze, he repeated, "Why are you crying?"

The dragon's eyes, still glowing green in the night, were blurred by tears, Sebek couldn't answer the question, and Malleus was confused and stubborn to maintain the gesture.The crocodile gently sniffed his nose, the tears on his face slid down his chin and then fell into Malleus's hands, the invulnerable dragon let go as if he had been burned.

"Has the broken music let you down?”He turned to go, but the cloak on his shoulders tightened, and the child, already grown up, grasped a corner of the cloth, as he had done when he was a little boy, and shook his head wildly, saying no, but choking and unable to say anything else, called out to him pitifully, Young master.

There were countless ways to make Sebek let go of him, and a king should not let his emotions show so much, but at this moment he could think of nothing, and slowly turned back with a sigh. Even though Sebek was as tall as he was, his water-washed eyes still overlapped with those of ten years ago.

So Malleus came forward and embraced him, wiping away the bitterness from the crocodile's eyes and patting his broad back, until the trembling stopped.

When they sat side by side on the boulder, Sebek was still embarrassed and Malleus didn't want to hear the apology for the thousand and one time, so he decided to change the subject, he looked up to the sky and asked, "Stargazing is rare in the Valley of Thorns.Do you like it?"

"YEAH ! I like it a lot! The crocodile was indeed distracted, and seeing that Malleus looked interested, he continued, "Did young master see that particularly bright star! If that star is five billion light-years away, that's what we saw five billion years ago! It's been so long, it's amazing!"

"In the meantime, maybe it has exploded and all you see now is the remnants of it, the light is fake." Malleus looked in the direction of his finger and saw an orange star, much brighter than the ones around it. He took one look and turned to Sebek, "You're staring at a dead planet, don't you feel cheated?"

Sebek had never thought about it, but stared at the star and thought for a moment, "If it really exploded, would it be considered resurrection when I saw it? " He scratched his hair as if he couldn't clear it up, "No matter what, in my eyes, it looks like it's still alive. There are so many unknowns in astrology, it may take me a lifetime to understand much about it ......".

The young child was unusually quiet when discussing the universe, and his gold green eyes, just slightly red from crying, now filled with starlight. And then quickly turned around when he realized Malleus wasn't responding."It's rude to say that without permission! Even though I love stargazing, I will never slack off in my job as a security guard!"

Dragon was silent for a moment, "You've read a lot of books, you should know that satellites revolve around planets because of gravity." When Sebek nodded, he started again, "Do you know what happens when two celestial bodies get too close together?"

The crocodile scraped through all his memories and still couldn't find the answer, Malleus opened his hand and a large and a small sphere leapt out of his hand into the air.Smaller sphere revolving around the larger one, which smart kids soon realize they are planet and satellite.

They kept a distance from each other, but after a few revolutions, the satellite gradually approached the planet, and the round sphere seemed to be under a great tug, gradually lengthening, but still carrying this weight, slowly approaching.

The change happened the moment Sebek blinked.The front end of the ellipse shattered under the weight of the tug, and then the rest of the sphere scattered like falling glass into stardust.

The whole process was silent, but Sebek seemed to hear a loud shattering sound piercing his eardrums as he watched the satellite fragments slowly disperse and finally form a ring around the planet.

"Are you afraid?"

Malleus closed his palms and lowered his eyes to keep his voice quiet, "I told you could be freer, and maybe in four years you'll have a different choice."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sebek stood up, is he leaving? Malleus had thought that nothing in the world would make him nervous, a hundred years is like the blink of an eye to him, but it's an endless moment.

Until something soft gently brushed against his hand.

The dragon's eyesight was good enough to make out the fine hairs on Sebek's cheek in the darkness, he knelt on one knee in front of him, his face flushed and tense from the touch of his lips against his master's, though he had done too many daring things tonight.

"As you just said, my lord, I could ask for more," he said. Malleus looked up at the boy's upturned face and saw that he was tempted to blink, but he pursed his lips and looked at him, sincerely and bravely.

"To devote my whole life to you, it is my wish."

The dragon took a deep breath and lifted his hand to shield his eyes, which were brighter than all the stars, and Sebek felt his body lifted by a gust of wind, silently waiting in the darkness for his master's response, is it reward, or punishment?

That response came across billions of light-years, and finally landed between his lips and his teeth.

  
fin.

**Author's Note:**

> The thing that has been tormenting me for so long is finally finished. ...... (indistinct)  
> The satellite smash mentioned in the article is the "Roche Limit," which is the point at which the planet's massive tidal forces will rip apart a satellite if it gets close enough to exceed a critical threshold.It is Malleus who is telling Babe that the danger of being around him is not only from the outside, he doesn't want to keep Babe prisoner, but wants him to be with him.  
> I don't know how much I can say, Babe has always believed in Malleus, but this time he is the one who brings redemption, pulls him out of his endless loneliness. I love this relationship!  
> If you'd like to give me a few thoughts, I'd appreciate it! I also love silsebe, why are Diasomnia so niceeee!!


End file.
